We’ve experienced so much growth at TpT this last year, it’s hard to keep track. In less than one year we’ve grown from just shy of 56K Facebook likes to almost 275K Facebook likes. We’ve moved into new headquarters and connected with fabulous new partners. We’re having our first-ever TpT conference: Supercharge Seller Success in July, and we’ve congratulated over 500 milestone-achieving Teacher Authors!

And really, it’s all because of you — both our seasoned and new TpT Buyers and TpT Sellers. That’s why we’d like to take a moment to say thank you to our newest members and hear a little about their experiences being new to Teachers Pay Teachers this past year.

What We Asked:

When did you open your TpT store?

How has selling on TpT influenced your teaching practice?

What are you looking forward to next year on TpT?

What We Found:

Kacie Travis

Started —Kacie Travis says: “I uploaded my first free product on 07/07/13 after I couldn’t sleep the night before from all the ideas swarming in my head.”

Influenced Teaching — “First, TpT has made my classroom more beautiful. I create more things that are visually appealing and my students now notice. On a deeper level, I am much more reflective about my teaching and the students’ learning. I always was before, but thinking about improvements to a lesson that can impact more than just the students in my room is motivating and inspiring. Knowing my lessons and resources could reach kids across the world forces me to take a deep look into each one’s effectiveness.”

Looking Forward — “As I go into my 2nd year on TpT, I am moving from 9 years in 7th grade Math to my 1st year in 10 grade Math. I was beginning to find myself too much in a comfort zone and needing a spark to relight my fire. I am taking the plunge and going big! So, I look forward to being able to reach more lives and hope for continued success as a high school seller.”

Shelly Rees

Started — Shelly Rees’s experience, “My store officially opened at the very end of December, 2013, with my first paid product uploaded at the beginning of January, 2014. I can honestly say I never expected the kind of success and joy I have found being a member of the TpT community!”

Influenced Teaching — “At first, I focused on building a few fun products, which brought a few sales. Then, I took some time and put together a very comprehensive packet focused on a specific skill — one that I generally have had trouble finding resources for. Buyers loved it, and it has done very well. So overall, my focus has shifted to creating and selling academically-focused products for the intermediate grades. As a teacher, this has greatly affected my classroom! My students have really loved the variety that comes with the new products and I love the reinforcement and enrichment my students are getting. I’ve also found that I am much better acquainted with standards and topics because I am specifically addressing them in most products that I make. It truly has strengthened me as a teacher.”

Looking Forward — “Next year, I am so excited to use everything I have created, especially my math materials which correlate to our text! I can’t wait to continue building additional centers and theme-centered materials! And of course, I can’t wait to see how my little store continues to progress and grow.”

Pamela Moeai

Started — Pamela Moeai says: “I opened my store in November of 2013, but seriously went for it in February 2014.”

Influenced Teaching — “It has been such a great experience. Creating and posting products to TpT has made me a more effective teacher. Starting in the Fall of 2014, I will be the technology and instructional specialist in a school with the lowest test scores in my state. My focus has been to create high-quality products that will help teachers in all grades.”

Looking Forward — “My TpT goals are to create more projects and increase my following. My educational goals are to help teachers increase test scores through higher-level, critical thinking instructional practice. Both goals should collide and I can’t wait to see what happens!”

123 teach – Brittany Kiser

Started — 123 teach – Brittany Kiser’s seen significant changes, “This was my first year selling on TpT, and it has been so motivating! I opened my store at the beginning of October 2013.”

Influenced Teaching — “My teaching has been immensely impacted! I spend so much more time planning and reflecting on every single assignment, assessment, and activity. I’ve come up with many creative ways to differentiate in my classroom, and it gives me even more motivation to know that other teachers will also be able to benefit from the time I spend creating engaging activities.”

Looking Forward — “Next year (and over the summer), I am hoping to be able to create/upload many more engaging products for my classroom and other teachers. I have many ideas for activities and I just haven’t had the time to create them!”

Stacey Lloyd

Started — From our international community, Stacey Lloyd from Vancouver, BC is new to TpT: “I opened my store at the end of October 2013 and all I can say is that it has been AMAZING! I have loved every minute of it. It has certainly been a roller-coaster ride with a steep learning curve, but it’s been totally worth it.”

Influenced Teaching — “I’ve found that it really deepened my knowledge of good theory and practice. It has made me think more deeply about every single lesson plan and worksheet I create for my teaching and therefore, without doubt it has made me a more engaging and thorough teaching professional.”

Looking Forward — “Next year, I look forward to setting more goals, being more effective in my marketing, and just enjoying being creative and engaged with my curriculum design and development. I also look forward to to developing friendships and community with other incredible TpT-ers!”

KB3Teach

Started — KB3Teach says TpT is the greatest job she’s ever had! “I started in October of 2013, and for the last 8 months I’ve been on the ‘ride of my life!’ TpT combines so many of the things I love into one fabulous ‘job’ — marketing, promotions, resource and curriculum design, creative freedom, flexibility, and support and feedback from peers.”

Influenced Teaching — “I’ve learned so much the past several months, and though my brain is packed (and semi-fried) with all the new information, I know the challenges are just beginning. TpT has forced me to look at my ‘great ideas’ and refine and polish them until they are products that other teachers feel comfortable introducing in their classrooms.”

Looking Forward — “I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to the feeling that comes with knowing that products I’ve designed for my own students are being used in classrooms in other parts of the world. What a thrill!”

Elyse Jahnke

Influenced Teaching — “Selling on TpT has influenced my teaching in the most AMAZING ways! Most of my products are related to the 5th grade math CCSSs. Just today my students took their spring NWEA assessment, and I couldn’t be more proud of them — they made the most growth out of any class in my entire school! (my school has 18 fifth grade classes, and almost 1,000 students). My products helped me focus my instruction, while providing my students with the progress tracking they needed to be successful. I also noticed that the teachers at my school who used my products also saw tremendous growth. This is why we do what we do… to help our kiddos reach heights that they never imagined! However, it was for sure not just my products that made this vast difference and tremendous growth. I have bought so many products from TpT, all of which have contributed to my students’ success this year. I started a ‘MATH WORKSHOP’ structure this year, and I learned everything I needed to learn from Math Workshop Guides that I bought from TpT. Also, in adopting this structure, I had to release our math program that was provided to us by our district to fit our ‘mini lesson’ routine. I could not have done all of this without TpT. I bought a tremendous amount of 5th grade math CCSS products in order to make this structure happen. I COULD NOT BE MORE GRATEFUL!”

Looking Forward — “I am looking forward to everything TpT related in this upcoming year! I am pretty sure I just convinced my husband to make a Vegas trip this summer so I can go to the TpT Conference. Also, I am looking forward to having time this summer to create more products — especially products that have been requested by TpT buyers. I could not be more excited to learn and grow as an educator through TpT! I am also excited that my teaching partner is having twins this year. I am extremely nervous about teaching without her for the first half of next year, but I know that my TpT family will help me through everything. Thank you, TpT, for all you have done!”

Adaptive Tasks

Started — Making a strong start, Adaptive Tasks says, “I opened my store the last week of June 2013. Once opened it took me all of about three days to become a Premium Member.”

Influenced Teaching — “I am not a teacher but a Paraprofessional who works with our students mainly learning life skills and vocational skills. I had always made my printable tasks to offer the students more variety of tasks beyond the conventional ones the room already had to offer. With budget worries I began to create more and more tasks that really helped the students learn valuable skills and dreamed of a way that I could present them to other classrooms and make a possible income from it. This is when I came across TpT, which gave me the opportunity I was dreaming of. I just keep creating as I see more and more of the types of skills the students need to learn.”

Looking Forward — “My second year is rapidly approaching and I plan to make my store as eye catching as possible, create more quality products, and stay in touch through the Seller’s Forum because you receive such valuable information and assistance from fellow store owners as well as the TpT staff.” (Thank you -TpT staff)

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Amazing work everyone! These are just a few of our new TpT Teacher-Authors learning and growing with us on a daily basis. If you’re interested in learning more about becoming a TpT Seller, please check out our blog for great ideas. Consider attending this year’s Supercharge Seller Success Conference in Las Vegas — there’s still time to register!

TpT is an open marketplace where educators buy, sell, and share original teaching materials. Join our community of educators and
share ideas, inspiration, and connect with teachers from around the world!